A NOTE ON THE INTAKE OF LACTATING EWES AT PASTURE

The grass intake of three breeds of ewe was measured in the 5th–7th week (Period 1) and the 9th–11th week (Period 2) of lactation. The breeds of ewe were Finnish Landrace × Scottish Halfbred (FH), Finnish Landrace × Scottish Blackface (FB) and Thornber Colburn Colbred × Scottish Blackface (TC₂). The immature FH ewes had a lower intake of digestible OM (26±1g/kg LW per day) than the mature FB (32±2g/kg LW per day) and TC₂ ewes (33±5g/kg LW per day) in Period 1, but there were no difference between the breeds in Period 2. The intakes in Period 2 were significantly lower than those in Period 1.